Citation: Adela Cathcart (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1864), 3 vols.

Bulloch (1925):

First edition: Adela Cathcart. By George MacDonald, M.A., Author of David Elginbrod, etc., etc. (Quotation from Chaucer’s Man of Lawes tale.) London: Hurst and Blackett, 1864.

8vo.

  • vol. I., pp. viii + 324
  • vol. II., pp. vi + 320
  • vol. III., pp. vi + 360 + (8 adv.).

Dedicated to John Rutherfurd Russell, M.D., who was physician to the Homeopathic Hospital.

This was the second of MacDonald’s novels and the first of the English series. Told in the first person, it is really a collection of fairy tales, parables, and poems, some of which had appeared serially, strung loosely together – indeed the Athenaum (May 7, 1864, p. 644) suggested that MacDonald had ransacked his desk for “all old bits of writing he had in his possession” – and related by a “story telling club”. The novel is an extreme example of MacDonald’s way of altering his text, for the 1882 edition differs greatly from the first one of 1864. The alterations are all for the worst, for the first edition contains three of his best fairy stories – “The Light Princess,” “The Shadows,” and “The Giant’s Heart” – which disappear altogether from the 1882 edition, although they have been frequently reprinted separately. The novel also contains “The Wow o’ Rivven,” “The Broken Swords,” “The Cruel Painter,” and “The Castle.” They were replaced in the 1882 by other stories, notably “The Snow Fight” (in chapter 15). Adela Cathcart also contains the long ballad (168 lines) “The Two Gordons.” All these stories are entered separately in this bibliography.

Other editions:

  • 1882. Published by Sampson Low, Searle and Rivington: 8vo, pp. iv + 412. This edition was hurried through the press without MacDonald’s seeing the proofs.
  • 1882. Published in Munro’s Seaside Library, New York.
  • 1890. Published by Sampson Low.
  • 1894. Published by Sampson Low.
  • 1905. Published by George Newnes: 8vo, pp. 416: price 2s. 6d.
  • 1908. Published from the Newnes plates by Edwin Dalton, Primitive Methodist Connexion, price 3s. 6d.
  • N.D. Published by Loring, Boston, 12 mo: and by McKay, Philadelphia.

Print editions:

  • The Johannesen edition (1994) is a reprint of the first edition.

Online editions at the Internet Archive:

Variations among editions

Chapters of the first edition include:

  1. Christmas Eve
  2. Church
  3. The Christmas Dinner
  4. The New Doctor
  5. The Light Princess
  6. The Bell
  7. The Schoolmaster’s Story
  8. Song
  9. The Curate and his Wife
  10. The Shadows (text)
  11. The Evening at the Curate’s
  12. Percy and his Mother
  13. The Broken Swords
  14. My Uncle Peter
  15. The Giant’s Heart
  16. A Child’s Holiday
  17. Interruption
  18. Percy
  19. The Cruel Painter
  20. The Castle
  21. What Next?
  22. Generalship
  23. An Unspoken Foresight

The 1882 edition introduced a number of changes. The 7 chapters in bold above were dropped from the 1882 edition. The 7 chapters in bold below were new additions. Chapters of the 1882 edition include:

  1. Christmas Eve
  2. Church
  3. The Christmas Dinner
  4. The New Doctor
  5. After Dinner
  6. Again
  7. The Schoolmaster’s Story
  8. Song
  9. The Curate and his Wife
  10. My Second Story
  11. The Evening at the Curate’s
  12. Percy and his Mother
  13. The Curate’s Second Story
  14. My Uncle Peter
  15. How the Children Took my Story
  16. A Child’s Holiday
  17. Interruption
  18. Percy
  19. The Doctor’s Mare
  20. A Parable
  21. What Next?
  22. Generalship
  23. An Unspoken Foresight

The following list tracks those changes across a small sample of English and American editions up through 1890, based on WorldCat records (OCLC):

  • 1864. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1864. OCLC: 13315433.
  • 1875. Boston: Loring, 1875. OCLC: 466739.
  • 1876. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1876.
  • 1880. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1880. iv, 412pp. OCLC: 957641106.
  • 1881-1903? New York: G. Routledge, 1881-1903? 423 pp. OCLC: 9823903.
  • 1882. London: Sampson Low & Co., 1882. iv, 412 pp. OCLC: 4246196.
  • 1887. London: Sampson Low & Co., 1887. iv, 412 pp. OCLC: 271820944.
  • 1890. Boston: Lothrop, 1890. 423 pp. OCLC: 22643907.

The dates below refer to the sample editions listed above.

  1. Christmas Eve: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  2. Church: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  3. The Christmas dinner: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  4. The New Doctor: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  5. After Dinner: 1882.
  6. Again: 1882.
  7. The Light Princess: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  8. The Bell: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  9. The Schoolmaster’s Story: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  10. Song: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  11. The Curate and his Wife: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  12. My Second Story: 1882.
  13. The Shadows: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  14. The Evening at the Curate’s: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  15. Percy and his Mother: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  16. The Curate’s Second Story: 1882.
  17. The Broken Swords: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  18. My Uncle Peter: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  19. How the Children Took my Story: 1882.
  20. The Giant’s Heart: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  21. A Child’s Holiday: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  22. Interruption: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  23. Percy: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  24. The Doctor’s Mare: 1882.
  25. A Parable: 1882.
  26. The Cruel Painter: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  27. The Castle: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1890.
  28. What Next?: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  29. Generalship: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.
  30. An Unspoken Foresight: 1864, 1875, 1881-1903?, 1882, 1890.

This sample is limited; there are many other editions. Perhaps this checklist may be helpful to assess whatever edition you are examining.

Download this list in a spreadsheet format: Numbers (with checkboxes); Excel. We welcome additions to this spreadsheet.

Note: An abridged edition, adapted by Michael Phillips, Adela Cathcart: The Cullen Collection, Volume 4, includes adapted versions of stories from both the 1864 and 1882 editions:

  1. The Light Princess
  2. The Bell
  3. Birth, Dreaming, and Death (adapted version of The School Master’s Story)
  4. The Shadows
  5. The Broken Swords
  6. My Uncle Peter
  7. The Giant’s Heart
  8. The Lost Lamb
  9. The Snow Fight
  10. A Child’s Holiday
  11. The Cruel Painter
  12. The Castle: A Parable
  13. The Little Boy and the Wise Man

These publication pages are a collaborative effort of members of The George MacDonald Society. We welcome comments on the individual publication pages to help improve the scope, accuracy, and utility of the descriptions.